Related Field
The present disclosure relates to a radar system, and a method for controlling such radar system, for providing increased robustness against radar interference transmissions. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may e.g. be applied in ground-based, naval and airborne applications.
Description Of Related Art
The continuously increasing use of applications using electromagnetic waves to transfer information, the increasing bandwidth used for telecommunication etc. makes the available frequency spectrum more and more crowded, wherein interference of transmissions at neighbouring frequencies is a more and more imminent problem for e.g. radar applications.
For radar applications an even more significant problem is deliberate, hostile transmission of radar interference transmissions such as e.g. active jamming. Radar interference transmissions may degrade the performance of the radar system or, if occurring within the same operating frequency range as used by a radar, drown possible radar echoes, also referred to as response signals, by overpowering such signals. In order to address the problems with radar interference transmissions a common approach is to use separate antennae systems, dedicated to detecting radar interference transmissions, which obviously adds cost and complexity to the radar system. Other existing solutions are e.g. to use narrow band radar receivers to scan the operating frequency range for interference, but such solutions often entails other negative side effects such as reduced time for radar operation and reduced probability of intercept. Bandwidth and operating frequency range of a radar system is primarily dependent on the application of the radar system.
For ESA, Electronically Scanned Array, radar applications, this may be an even more significant problem. Today ESA applications is becoming the predominant radar technique used within many application areas, and ESA radars may be more sensitive to jamming due to active electronics positioned directly behind the often wideband, wide angle, antenna elements.
Dynamic range is herein referred to as the difference in energy between the weakest and strongest signal a receiver is capable of detecting. Previously analogue-to-digital-converter receivers have been either relatively narrow band, with high performance in terms of e.g. dynamic range, or wide band but without the high dynamic range. However, recent development of receivers with analogue-to-digital conversion capability, wherein such wideband receivers still display sufficient performance in terms of dynamic range, has enabled new ways of designing radar systems.
Thus, there is room for further improvement.